Opisthokont
Broad eukaryotic group including animals and fungi.
Last updated
They are generally recognized as a clade, previously called the "Fungi/Metazoa group"[1] The animal and fungus kingdoms are both included within the opisthokonts, a broad eukaryotic group.[1]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Eukaryotic taxonomy
- Key characteristic
- Synthesis of extracellular chitin; osmotrophic absorption of nutrients
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Opisthokont characteristics include synthesis of extracellular chitin and extracellular digestion with osmotrophic absorption.[2] Opisthokonts are divided into Holomycota and Holozoa, with no basal opisthokonts identified as of 2020.[3] Flagellate cells in opisthokonts, such as animal sperm and chytrid fungal spores, typically move using a single flagellum located at the rear.[4] The name Opisthokonta is derived from this rear-flagellum characteristic.[4]
Other eukaryotic groups have flagellate cells that move using one or more flagella at the front.[4] Thomas Cavalier-Smith, in a 1987 publication, first proposed a close evolutionary link between animals and fungi, coining the informal term opisthokonta for this grouping.[5] Cavalier-Smith and Alexandra Stechmann have proposed that uniciliate eukaryotes (including opisthokonts) diverged from biciliate eukaryotes soon after their evolution.[6]
What the research sources say
The PLOS ONE paper from May 2008 titled "Multigene phylogeny of choanozoa and the origin of animals" supports the recognition of opisthokonts as a clade.[1] The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology paper from January 2019 titled "Revisions to the Classification, Nomenclature, and Diversity of Eukaryotes" lists the biochemical characteristics of opisthokonts.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Opisthokont" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Multigene phylogeny of choanozoa and the origin of animals", PLOS ONE, May 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Opisthokont" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Adl, "Revisions to the Classification, Nomenclature, and Diversity of Eukaryotes", The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, January 2019, p. 4–119 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Opisthokont" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tikhonenkov, "New Lineage of Microbial Predators Adds Complexity to Reconstructing the Evolutionary Origin of Animals", Current Biology, November 2020, p. 4500–4509.e5; Torruella, "Phylogenomics Reveals Convergent Evolution of Lifestyles in Close Relatives of Animals and Fungi", Current Biology, September 2015, p. 2404–2410 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Opisthokont" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The protistan origins of animals and fungi", Molecular Biology and Evolution, January 2006, p. 93–106 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Opisthokont" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Evolutionary biology of Fungi", Cambridge University Press, 1987, p. 339–353; "Monophyletic origins of the metazoa: an evolutionary link with fungi", Science, April 1993, p. 340–342 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Opisthokont" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stechmann, "Rooting the eukaryote tree by using a derived gene fusion", Science, July 2002, p. 89–91 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Opisthokont (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Higher-Level Taxonomy & Evolution
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Opisthokont (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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